I Wish You Would
by shatteredmagicx
Summary: It's 2009. Hermione Granger thinks her life has been difficult since the Battle Of Hogwarts, but it's about to get a whole lot more complicated. Seventeen year old Minerva McGonagall finally turns up, and suddenly everything both witches have ever known is thrown into jeopardy. And how will adult Minerva cope as she's forced to look back into a past she'd rather forget?
1. Chapter 1

First story in a very long time for me. In fact first story since I started my new account!

I'm going to keep this authors note relatively short because I've drunk far too much wine and I'm not 100% sure this story is going to make sense, but here's part 1!

If you do read please let me know what you think, should I continue?

It's T at the moment but may become M if I continue. Is that okay?

Chelsey xoxo

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><p>"How on earth did I get here Professor and how do I get back?"<p>

Albus Dumbledore sighed at his young student and then signalled towards the comfy looking sofa in the corner of his office. "Ah Miss McGonagall you might want to sit down for this. I have a feeling you're not going to like my answer."

The seventeen year old witch took a seat and scowled suspiciously at her Headmaster. The last thing she remembered was running out of Hogwarts to go after him. He had been on his way to confront Grindelwald who had just arrived at the Ministry of Magic, and she was almost certain that he wasn't going to survive it. Next thing she was laying on the floor of this office which judging by the fact her whole body was aching, she'd obviously hit it at speed. It had taken less then ten seconds for her to realise that as her head of house appeared to have aged considerably and seemed to have taken over the Headmaster's office, she must be somewhere in the future.

The older wizard sat slowly down next to the young woman that had moments before in her time been his protégé, and moments before in the current time been his retired best friend.

"What I am about to explain to you is complicated and I am not entirely sure of all the facts myself, so I hope I can explain it in a manner that you find satisfactory."

"I hope so too Professor."

Despite himself he couldn't help but smile. As much as he loved his current best friend there were times he missed her seventeen year old self. Seeing her scowl at him again he hurried himself back to the topic in hand.

"Before I start could I just ask you what the last thing you remember is? It will help me to know where to start."

Minerva slowly shut her eyes and tried to recall as much as she possibly could of the events leading her up to… wherever she was now. Opening then for a second she asked "before I do that, would you mind telling me what year I'm in?"

"2009, it's the 30th August 2009."

Her jaw fell a little bit she pulled herself together and shut her eyes. "I had overheard you talking to someone in the staffroom about going after Grindelwald on your own. It was a ridiculous suggestion, he should be taken down by a team of ministry officials not a school teacher. So I went after you to tell you as much. I just remember leaving Hogwarts and apparating to the Ministry of Magic." She paused and tried to remember what happened next. "And that's the last thing I can recall."

Albus Dumbledore nodded. "I suspected as much. I did wonder if you'd have lost the memory of the last couple of hours as the other version of yourself did." He saw her look blankly at him, a rare moment for Minerva McGonagall who usually understood almost everything immediately. "Sorry I'm speaking out of order and confusing matters further. Minerva there was an accident involving some Time Turners. You somehow managed to split yourself into two different periods of time. When you awoke in your time everything continued as normal other than two hours that you are still to recall. But I knew something was wrong. I'd seen the other half of you that had split away head into the future. If I'm honest I am a little relieved to see you here. I feared you would have gone so far into the future that I would no longer be here to explain. I never expected to be lucky enough to have you arrive directly into my office. How convenient" he mused almost cheerfully.

The seventeen year old Minerva stared at him for a moment. "But if all I've done is go forward in time, then surely all I have to do is go back in time. All I need is a Time Turner and I can be on my way. Like you said I continued as normal, so I must manage to find a way back. Shall we go to the ministry now or do we need to book an appointment? I'd rather go sooner than later to be honest with you. Term starts in a couple of days and I'm rather eager to fulfil my position as Head Girl. Although if I'm going back to any point I don't suppose…"

"Minerva please stop talking."

She fell silent and tried not to notice the look of sadness in his face. "Sorry Professor."

"No no please don't apologise. I just don't like leaving a misunderstanding hanging as it is between us at the moment. I did wonder whether when you found your way back into the past you'd rejoin with your other self, although you never recall an incident that would resemble such a thing. But then the incident happened during Harry's 5th year…" he trailed off.

"Who on earth is Harry and what does he have to do with anything?" Minerva said as sharply as her older counterpart would have.

"He… that's a very long story. I'll lend you the book" Albus said sighing again, forgetting how much Minerva would have to relearn. "The important thing for you to know is that every Time Turner has been destroyed and there is yet to be anyone that has managed to recreate one. And I suspect if my assumption is correct, and it usually is, then no one ever will. To be honest if the intelligence of the both of us and Miss Granger hasn't managed to find the solution then…" Realising the look of shock and horror on the young witch's face he stopped. "I'm so sorry Minerva, I truly am. We will of course continue to try and recreate what we lost but in the meantime, 2009 is where you'll have to start again. And as no one else is aware of what happened other than myself, Miss Granger and your other self, you'll need to live under a new identity and will have to return to school and finish your final year in order to graduate. Not to mention the fact you'll have to go back and retake your OWLs."

Minerva wasn't someone to get particularly emotional but she could feel tears prickling in her eyes. "I don't understand. How could this have happened?"

The elderly wizard shook his head. "That I don't have an answer to I'm afraid, although I searched for many years. Never truly forgiving myself for what had happened all those years ago when you put yourself at risk to protect me."

"I… I don't know how… I don't know…" seeing the panic rise up in the young woman next to him, his favourite student and his best friend, guilt once again flooded the Headmaster. But there was nothing he could do in that moment, other than wrap his arms around her and let her weep onto his shoulder as she had done so many times already.

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><p>Hope you enjoyed! Like I said please let me know what you think! xoxo<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you so much to everyone that's taken an interest in this story.

This is a pretty short update, a bit of a filler before the next chapter. But I hope you enjoy because there are some points that are really key to the plot.

I'd love to know what you think and any guesses about anything that you think might have happened/might happen. I already have most of it planned out so it will be interesting to see if anyone guesses!

Chelsey

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><p>Chapter Two<p>

After calming young Minerva, Albus knew he needed to go and see the only person in the school that would be of any use. Leaving the seventeen year old alone in his office he made his way to Hermione Granger's classroom.

The thirty year old woman had changed so much since the war. She'd returned to finish her final year and take her NEWT exams, and to begin with everything seemed fine. She was her usual strong, intelligent, kind self; taking her roll of Head Girl very seriously. But towards the end of the year her long distance relationship with Mr Weasley had come to an end and after a very humiliating experience when she entered the Ministry of Magic for an interview she decided she'd rather stay at Hogwarts and teach.

Since then she had never fully recovered. Whether it was really that experience alone or whether it was partly a delayed effect from the war, the young woman completely withdrew. These days she kept herself to herself, only really talking to himself and Minerva, and even then very little. He suspected that she was closer to her old Head of House, but Minerva said very little in regards to their relationship.

He knocked on the door.

"Come in."

"She's arrived."

The witch's head flew up. No explanation was required. Since she'd discovered what had happened to Minerva all those years ago she had worked tirelessly to try and recreate a Time Turner. It gave her something to focus on other than the mess that was her life. It had been her goal to have it ready for when past Minerva turned up, but apparently that was something else she'd managed to fuck up.

"Great, how is she?"

Ignoring the slight sarcasm that came with the word 'great' Albus sighed sadly. "She's a little shaken. I'm not surprised as such but it is a little disconcerting to see someone that has been so strong for so many years completely inconsolable."

"Indeed. What have you told her?"

"As much as I can really. There are so many questions that even we don't know the answer to but I've explained the situation as best as I know how."

Hermione nodded. She put her quill down knowing that if Albus had come the whole way to see her then it wasn't just for a chat. "What do you want me to do Albus?"

He couldn't help but smile. There was something about adult Hermione that reminded him a lot of adult Minerva. She always knew when he wanted something and wasn't afraid of being direct with him. "She's still in a very fragile state. I've explained that she will have to go back to her seventh year and study for her NEWTs. At the same time she'll need to take her OWLs again. It's a lot of work but Minerva was always highly intelligent so I don't doubt she'll have no trouble. But it would still be really helpful for me if you could keep an eye on her and help her where you can. I know that young Minerva will take to you just as much as her older counterpart."

Ignoring his attempt at flattery she shook her head. "Albus I can tell from your face that you want me to do more than tutor her."

He nodded slowly. "Hermione I really don't feel it would be appropriate given who she is and the fact that she's still adjusting to just throw her in with the other seventh years. I have no objection to her taking lessons with them, but I would prefer that she stayed with you in your quarters…"

"Albus"

"I know I'm asking a lot Hermione but it's for Minerva. And it's not as though I can have her in with me."

"She's your best friend."

"No, adult Minerva is my best friend. This Minerva is my student, who has known me only as her professor. She is a seventeen year old young lady, it would hardly be appropriate for her to share my quarters."

Hermione raised her eyebrows. "It's not as though you'd jump her…"

"Yes but she doesn't know that, nor does anyone else."

Hermione hummed slightly and tried to think of a solution. It wasn't that she didn't like Minerva but… it had been a long time since she'd had the closeness with someone that Albus was now asking of her. Since what Ron had done to her at the Ministry to punish her for their breakup she'd promised herself to never be that vulnerable again. And no matter how hard she tried she knew that if she shared a dormitory with young Minerva she wouldn't be able to help but get emotionally invested. She struggled enough to remain unattached from her adult self. The only thing that helped was despite there being a friendship between them from years of close conversations, both with and without Albus, she had never discussed anything too intimate. And Minerva had always been very respectful of her boundaries and hadn't pressed her about what happened.

But this was different. Telling or not telling her wasn't going to help if the seventeen year old was sharing her home. Yet there was still a little part of Hermione that felt very fondly about the older, or now younger witch, and knew she could never forgive herself if she didn't protect her, like the older Minerva had always done for her.

"Okay Albus, I'll do it."

He smiled. "Thank you, would you like to come and meet her?"

"I suppose I'd better."

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><p>I hope you enjoyed. I know Hermione seems a little out of character at the moment but it is just a result of what's happened to her. But the old Hermione is still in there if either Minerva or Albus can let it out.<p>

Again please let me know what you think.

Chelsey x


	3. Chapter 3

I know I've already updated today but I have a couple of busy days coming up so just in case I didn't get a chance to post I wanted to get another chapter I'd already written up.

This one is a bit longer. It doesn't really explain much, more creates more questions. I'm really sleepy and it's an emotional scene so I hope I've done it justice. Please let me know what you think as well as any more predictions.

Thank you so much for all the amazing support so far it really means a lot!

Chelsey xoxo

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><p><em>Chapter Three<em>

"Hello Minerva, I'm Hermione Granger. I'm the Transfiguration's professor here at Hogwarts. Your old job. I took over from you when you retired." She didn't want to overload the young witch with information but at the same time she wanted to start trying to catch her up on the life she missed.

"Nice to meet you Professor Granger."

Hermione smiled back and then looked at Albus uncertainly.

"Right Miss McGonagall, the lovely Professor Granger has kindly agreed that as you cannot really be put into the Gryffindor tower with the other seventh years, that you can stay with her for the time being. At least until you settle in."

"Thank you but I'll be fine with everyone else. I am more than capable of looking after myself." Minerva snapped.

"While that may be true" Hermione interrupted "you have years of knowledge missing. For example do you know about the Battle of Hogwarts? Who Lord Voldemort is? Because this is all information that had you genuinely grown up in this time you would know. It would be far too suspicious to allow you, with your lack of knowledge of the modern world, to just enter it. We have just one day tomorrow to fill you in on the basics but we will never be able to tell you enough. Until myself and Professor Dumbledore are satisfied that you can blend in without raising suspicion you are to stay in my quarters other than for lessons."

"I'm a quick learner and I don't need to be babysat."

"Then stop acting like it."

The two women scowled at each other while Albus watched on amused. He always assumed that the pair would get on famously as they had done when they had a fifty year age gap. But apparently putting them together when they were little more than a decade apart changed things somewhat.

"Miss McGonagall, Minerva, I am in complete agreement with Professor Granger. And I know you have experienced a shock but she is still your teacher and you are to respect her as such. What she says goes."

Minerva didn't say another word, just glared into space.

"Fantastic. I'll let you both go and get settled in."

And with that they were both ushered out of his office.

The walk to Hermione's quarters was a long one, a deadly silence between them. When they finally arrived Hermione unlocked the door and then walked inside, indicating that Minerva should do the same.

"I'll show you to my spare room."

"Fine"

Trying not to lose patience and snap again, Hermione led her towards the second bedroom. "Unfortunately we only have one bathroom between us but I'm sure you're used to worse than that. I'd suggest you use it to get ready for bed first as it's going to be a long day for you tomorrow. Albus wants you to begin lessons with the rest of the year on the 2nd, and as we're both busy on the 1st, tomorrow is the only day we'll really be able to focus on catching you up."

"If you say so."

Minerva was shown the bathroom and then left to her own device as Hermione returned to the living area.

The seventeen year old peeled off her old robes and after looking at the state of them she may as well banish them as they were no use to her anymore. She climbed into the shower and let the hot water flood over her body while she tried to absorb everything that had happened.

Minerva knew that she was being ridiculously difficult and completely unlike her usual self, but she just couldn't control it. It had taken her years to master her temper and hormones in her own time, and being here seemed to have sent her right back to the beginning. She hated being the snivelling mess that she had ended up in the headmaster's office, or the angry bitch that she'd shown to Professor Granger. It was such a genuinely nice thing to take her in like this, and she'd been nothing but ungrateful and awkward. It was almost like she was over compensating after her tears. She was usually so good at controlling it and even when she hadn't been the only person that she ever allowed to see her upset was Professor Dumbledore. She knew that technically he was still the same person but everything just felt so different now.

She could feel herself beginning to get anxious but took a deep breathe and climbed out of the shower, wrapping the large towel around herself. She picked up her wand and tried to conjure up some pyjamas. And then she tried again. Over and over again she tried getting more and more frustrated. Why wasn't it working? She'd managed to banish her old robes okay. It was like her magic could only work on the things that she's brought with her. slinging her wand to the side in annoyance she made sure her entire body was covered by the towel before heading out of the bathroom.

"Professor Granger?"

Hermione looked up. The voice sounded so quiet, so unsure, that she was taken aback for a moment. "Yes sweetheart?"

"I… I don't have anything to wear."

Slowly the seventeen year old made her way across the room. Hermione smiled softly. "That's okay we'll grab you some of my things until we've had a chance to get you some of your own."

It should have been reassuring for her but realising that she had none of her stuff with her sent Minerva into a fresh wave of panic. She was the least materialistic person in the world, but she was highly sentimental and the thought that she'd never see some of her prized possessions again caused her great distress. Not to mention the fact she was now alone in this time with nothing of her own and no money. Realising she'd frozen and would not look obviously distressed Minerva panicked. She span on the spot and started racing back to the bathroom. If she could just get there before her panic got any worse and locked herself in until she calmed down maybe everything would be okay.

At least it might have been, had she not completely failed to notice the coffee table in front of her. Hitting it at speed she was thrown over it and after flipping over in mid air managed to land on her back sprawled across the carpet, towel thrown off her. She let out a small wail of pain and then realised the Professor was heading towards her. Remembering her bruised and battered body was now totally exposed she desperately tried to pull her towel back around herself. But in as much pain as she was in she couldn't even manage that, and after flailing miserably on the floor she let out a scream. "Keep away from me, go away."

Hermione was in shock. So much had happened so quickly that she could barely keep up. She could see Minerva starting to get herself into a panic although over what she wasn't entirely sure. The next minute she was racing back across the room at such speed she didn't notice the relatively large piece of furniture right in front of her. The first thought to cross her mind was that she hoped Minerva wasn't seriously injured, then she saw the state of her body and suddenly her previous injuries seemed of much more concern. Until at least the scream left her mouth.

Knowing that she couldn't just leave her there she ignored the protesting wails and wrapped a towel around the shaking teenager before carrying her across the room to the sofa and laying her back down.

The younger witch continued to fight against her until eventually she gave up. She just flopped into the older witch's arms and cried. "Please just leave me alone I don't want you to see me like this."

"Shhhh" Hermione whispered. "Minerva please calm down for me my love I need to do a diagnostic spell on you to check that the reason you couldn't move was just because you got yourself into such a state, not because you've seriously injured yourself."

It was a struggle but eventually Hermione managed to establish that no major damage was done. "Shhhh it's okay Min, you're okay."

Hermione held onto the young woman completely helplessly. This was why she hadn't wanted Albus to leave them together. What did Hermione know about looking after someone else, she couldn't even look after herself.

"Sweetheart it's okay, come on please don't cry. It's going to be fine."

"How?"

"Because… look at me." She made young Minerva look directly at her. "Because you're not alone. I'm as lost right now as you are. I know things are harder for you because you're away from everyone that you used to have, but I am as well. I didn't even need a Time Turner, I pushed everyone away. And I've spent the last ten years alone and I don't know what I'm doing. I might be thirty but my life pretty much stopped at seventeen. I know I haven't been the most understanding today but I was scared Min, I was scared about the prospect of letting you stay here. Letting you in. And I still am. And I can't believe how much I've just told you. But I need you to understand. If I screw this up it's not because of you. It's just what I do okay? And I"m sorry." Hermione too had tears in her eyes but Minerva seemed to have calmed in reaction to her upset.

"I'm scared."

"Me too."

"Are you going to ask?"

"Ask what?"

"What you want to ask."

"And what's that?"

"What happened to my body."

Silence.

"I think if you ever decide you're ready to tell me, you will."

"Thank you Professor."

"You're welcome. But please don't call me Professor. I'm not your professor while we're here. I'm just Hermione."

"Thank you Hermione."

A nod.

"Can I ask you something?"

Hermione nodded again. "Of course."

"You called me Min, so I'm assuming you call me Min in the present."

"Yes."

"So we're really close?"

"Not exactly"

"What do you mean?"

Hermione looked down. "Long story, not one for tonight. Right come on let's find you something to put on and then tuck you into bed."

"He told me my body was disgusting" came a quiet voice next to her.

"Who did?"

Minerva shook her head. "Doesn't matter."

"There's nothing wrong with your body sweetheart. You are stunningly beautiful, just as I have always known you. Now come on pyjamas!"

Fifteen minutes later Minerva had changed into the pyjamas Hermione had left on the side for her. "I've changed you can come back in."

"Goodnight darling."

"Hermione?"

"Yes"

"Please don't leave me."

Hermione held her breath for a moment before deciding. "Good job there's enough room in her for a double bed isn't it?

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><p>So there you go chapter three. I know everyone's still a bit out of character but once they all settle they'll go back to themselves a lot more. Hope you enjoyed.<p>

Chelsey xoxoxo

(ps. Is it too early to put Christmas decorations up? Answers on a postcard please!)


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